As a Canadian, I am fully aware of how presumably rational and literate people can elect utter poltroons, nullities, and incompetents to political office. The Liberal prime minister from 1921-1930 and 1935-1948, William Lyon Mackenzie King, thought Hitler “might become one of the saviors of the world” and that “Kristallnacht might turn out to be a blessing.” When he was not busy turning away Jewish-German refugees from our shores, he was regularly communing with the spirits of his departed mother, Leonardo da Vinci, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and his beloved Irish Terriers (all, with the exception of one, named Pat). As poet Frank Scott wrote in a piece titled “W.L.M.K.,” “Let us raise a temple/To the cult of mediocrity.”

Naturally, we didn’t stop there. We put Liberal Pierre Trudeau into the PM’s seat largely because he seemed “cool” and wore sandals; Trudeau then proceeded to massively inflate the national debt, impoverish (and estrange) the oil-producing province of Alberta with an energy tax grab, clumsily attempt to repatriate the Constitution thus abetting the secessionist impetus in Quebec, and cozy up to Fidel Castro. Conservative PM Joe Clark couldn’t count properly and saw his government defeated during a crucial vote for lack of a sufficient number of members in the House. Conservative Brian Mulroney suffered from poor judgment in his choice of colleagues and a tendency to insouciant avarice that later landed him in hot water. Liberal Jean Chrétien, who liked to style himself as “the little guy from Shawinigan,” was really a cunning ignoramus who knew how to feather his nest and cling to power but nearly lost the country during the great referendum debate of 1995. Liberal Paul Martin couldn’t stop waving his arms during campaign speeches like a puppet gone berserk and pulverized the country with his numbingly repeated “Let me be clear,” which he rarely was. He lasted two years and change. (Interesting material can be gleaned from Canadian historian Michael Bliss’ Right Honourable Men.)

I have also bemusedly observed a succession of American presidents whom I would have been loath to invite to my supper table. One had to resign for approving a raid on rival headquarters. One thought we were about to enter a “new world order,” betokening his complete ignorance of history and human psychology. Another seemed to believe that the Oval Office was meant to double as a bordello, a man plainly devoid of moral standards but adroit at the practice of “triangulation.” This is the same man who signed the Motor-Voter bill into law that clogged the voter rolls with ineligibles, leading to gross ballot fraud and fostering still more ACORN corruption. His Republican successor succumbed to the drag-effect of his inept subordinates, stoked the national deficit, believed democracy was synonymous with elections and could be exported to cultures with no historical ground in which democratic principles could reliably take root, and during his second term turned his administration into a holding company for the Democrats.

Some PJM readers might ask themselves why a Canadian is so preoccupied with American politics. For one thing, America, as we used to say back when, is “where it’s happening,” for how America goes, so goes the world. Additionally, the immediate political and economic fate of my country is ineluctably tied to that of the U.S. We have the same enemies, our militaries are integrated through NORAD, we share the longest undefended border in the world, we buy property, visit, and vacation in one another’s lands, and of course, under the provisions of NAFTA, the U.S. is Canada’s largest trading partner. If America implodes, we go down the tubes with it.

Thus I pay close attention to the American political scene, which is always fascinating and always instructive, a bellwether for the future. This will explain why I have grown increasingly distraught when I consider what the American people inflicted upon themselves (and the rest of us) by electing a president on a dream and a catchphrase — a man with a dubious leftist background, with no relevant experience apart from serving two years as a junior senator, with little in the way of detectable credentials, boasting a CV with major areas blacked out, who enjoyed the mentorship of impenitent America haters, and who promised to “fundamentally transform” a country that didn’t need to be transformed, only responsibly governed.

The current American president is arguably the gravest mistake the American electorate has ever made and one it may not survive intact. It will inevitably come to regret its decision. This is not the place to run through the chronicle of Obama’s blunders, backslidings, broken promises, outright lying, despotic tendencies, shallow education, historical falsifications, ludicrous policies, betrayal of allies, and economic bungling (assuming this is not deliberate) — the record is accessible in all its details to anyone who wishes to consult it. What strikes me as most ominous, however, is that the American people have elected a president for whom the critical battleground in the world is not the Middle East or Iraq or Iran or even Afghanistan. For this president, the war he is declaring is to be fought right here on American soil against a late-awakened majority of his own countrymen, on whom he wishes to impose a political structure alien to their history, culture, economy, and feeling of exceptionalism. This is a president who is foisting a radical, far-left agenda on a center-right country and who will not be deterred from ramming his project into existence.

Indeed, one must really wonder, as Nancy Morgan has written, whether Obama is trying to bankrupt America, “adopting a strategy outlined by Cloward-Piven: overwhelm the system until it fails, and then replace it. … Based on Obama’s actions to date, reasonable people must allow for the possibility that the change Obama promised may include destroying the free market economic system in order to replace it with an economy regulated by government entities.” Similarly, if the Democratic liberal-left is so smart, Tom Blumer asks rhetorically, why are we so broke? And answers: “because they want us to be.” And as Nancy Coppock writes at American Thinker, “It is not alarmist to identify this situation as a coup d’état.”

Pajamas Media Chicago editor Rick Moran believes that “President Obama means well,” since “even at the risk of disastrous political defeat at the polls in November for his party, he is willing to undertake this imprudent, radical, and unnecessary change in the relationship between the governed and the governors.” I respectfully disagree. I suspect, rather, that what we are observing is an authoritarian personality and dogmatic political commissar intent on forcing his doctrinaire convictions upon the body politic regardless of the cost. It is, so to speak, to the Finland Station or bust. It’s either The Socialist Republic of America or it’s nothing. Let’s not kid ourselves. Obama and his catwalk crowd are not to be intimately equated with Lenin and his Bolsheviks, but they are definitely in the same snack bracket. As J. Robert Smith writes, “the differences … are significant,” yet “Obama, Pelosi, and Reid are decidedly pale reds.” Lenin, he concludes, “would be proud.”

We must not sell Obama short. He is a determined man. He is supremely confident in his oratorical powers, even if his rhetoric sounds somewhat wattled when he’s off the teleprompter. He has the backing of his party, the liberal intelligentsia, the mainstream media, and the teeming campus myrmidons. He is imbued with the theories of leftist revolutionary Saul Alinsky and has no doubt learned much from his friend and former neighbor, founder of the terrorist Weather Underground Bill Ayers, and has mastered what has come to be known as “Chicago tactics — “a machine,” according to Michael Gecan writing in the Boston Review, which “thrives on narrow or limited voting situations” and is predicated on “centralized power and influence.”

Obama’s presidential chutzpah knows no bounds and his primary impulse is winning above all else. But all this and more should be common knowledge by this time. What is not common knowledge is the extent to which the Cloward-Piven doctrine, which envisions the destruction of a capitalist economy and the democratic state on which it is based by spending the nation into financial collapse, seems to inform the president’s domestic strategy. This is the real meaning of Rahm Emanuel’s aphorism: “Never let a serious crisis go to waste.” Accelerated borrowing and debt, galloping inflation (and its twin, deflation of the currency), unaffordable government-controlled health care and the monopolizing of industries and banks, and endlessly expanding entitlement programs which the nation cannot pay for are the weapons of choice to parlay the “crisis” into the statist takeover of a free market economy. Like Shakespeare’s profligate King Reignier, the president is a man “whose large style/Agrees not with the leanness of his purse.” Those who claim with former director of Citibank, Walter Wriston, that nations, unlike individuals or corporations, do not go bankrupt, should think again. Zimbabwe argues otherwise. The miseries of Argentina between 1999-2002, staggering under the combined weight of unemployment, stagflation, and the flight of capital, furnish a paramount object lesson. Sound familiar?

A nation is not built from cyclopean stone. It is a fragile tissue of shared assumptions about the nature of its history, its social consensus, its cultural and political coherence, and its implicit sense of destiny which is always subject to the threat of unraveling into a tangle of loose strands. This is a process that has been gathering momentum for some time now. It did not begin overnight. We can trace this gradual dénouement (or unknotting) from the “progressive school” of education in the 1920s and 30s with its child-centered deprivileging of hard content in favor of method and personal experience, through the student revolution of the 1960s, to the affirmative action enterprise and self-esteem movement of the latter part of the last century, to the postmodern attack on the concept of verifiable, objective truth and the politicizing of the universities we see today.

Allan Bloom charted the impending disaster in his magisterial The Closing of the American Mind which, despite the beating he took for his views in the liberal press and the politically correct modern academy, was frighteningly prescient. This relentless disintegrative process has now come to fruition. America has been demonstrably Zinned and Zizeked. It is only a poorly educated, materially pampered, emotionally driven, and largely ahistorical electorate that could have put a man like Obama into power — a man, as we have noted, enmeshed in a circle of highly problematic friends and allies, with a very sketchy résumé, a patchy and volatile voting record in the Senate, and ultimately with no visible qualifications for the presidency — on the strength of a few resonant clichés and a skein of empty slogans.

One is reluctant to entertain suspicions of this nature, not only because they appear at first blush to be outrageously farfetched, but because they open one to accusations of conspiracy mongering, and we have had enough of such trafficking in the absurd. One can sympathize with the National Review Institute’s Matt Patterson’s hesitation to adopt the cynical attitude that sees an American president embracing a policy of “deliberate neglect, as Americans in desperate financial situations may be more likely to acquiesce to an engorged and gorging government.” “But I do know this,” he continues, “while Obama continues to fiddle his atonal health care tune, the flames of war and recession and fiscal collapse rage all around him.” No one who is not a true believer in the coming socialist utopia or a convinced Obamaniac can reasonably deny that the evidence is troubling, and moreover, disturbingly cumulative. And then we remember that echoing promise to fundamentally transform America — not merely “transform,” but to accomplish the deed “fundamentally.” That is the pivotal word. For Mitt Romney, who has just published the timely and important No Apology: The Case for American Greatness, such a transformation as envisaged by the president would lead to “unthinkable consequences” — except that such consequences have become all too eminently thinkable.

Perhaps America deserves Obama, the creature of a blinkered and self-deluded electorate, as we Canadians deserved our Mackenzie Kings, Trudeaus, Clarks, and Chrétiens. Nonetheless, we somehow managed to outlast the Beckian “idiots” we propelled into office. Maybe we just got lucky. But the world is a different place now and I am terribly afraid the United States may not be so lucky. Barring the unforeseen, what America’s enemies have not been able to do, America may do for them. The vultures gather round while the president and his minions are distracted by the campaign they are waging against their own country.

The balance of power is shifting in the Middle East. Iran is racing toward the nuclear bomb and replacing the U.S. as the dominant influence in the region. Syria accepts American gestures of reconciliation while continuing to harbor and subsidize terrorists. The Russian bear is resurgent. China, as the principal holder of American debt, has been given a free ride. Socialist Venezuela works assiduously against American interests in Latin America. Meanwhile, Obama is focused almost exclusively on drumming a ruinous health care bill through the legislature, hamstringing American business, leaving a drastic unemployment rate unaddressed, exponentially increasing the deficit, raising taxes and “redistributing” wealth. He is doing nothing to reduce America’s dependence on foreign energy sources by tapping its vast oil and gas reserves, but investing disproportionately in green consortiums which are at least a generation away from becoming even moderately efficient — if ever. He is printing money with abandon, floating unsustainable “stimulus packages,” and, no less distressing, cutting back American military might at precisely the time when it should be strengthened and projected. The prospect of crippling the nation both domestically and externally seems to be the plan. Or in any case, the facts seems to point alarmingly in that direction.

But one thing is for sure. If Obama is not stopped in his tracks and the measures he is proposing effectively parried, a “great reckoning,” to cite Shakespeare again, is heading this way “when a man’s good wit [is not] seconded with the forward child understanding.” Then we would find, like the Bard’s effete, deposed Richard II, that we are “sworn … to grim necessity.” But of course, we do not need to read Shakespeare to understand or describe the predicament we are in. We need only open our eyes and read the proximate world around us.

85 Comments, 84 Threads

Mr Solway……where have you been???? A very accurate portrayal of this horrible situation many of us saw coming; we questioned the gapping holes, the associates, the hypocrisy and the mis-deeds. The external enemy can be isolated and rendered impotent and is nothing compared to the calculated destruction from within. We clearly have had a fraud perpetrated on this country and Obama’s words of “…..we are five days away from fundamentally transforming the US….” are eating at the fabric of this country and will haunt us for a very long time. We have a marxist president and marxist fools in congress who have been terrible stewards of our republic and they are long overdue for the exits. They are an absolute embarrassment to this country and a disgrace to those who shed blood for our liberty. I believe we are witnessing PURE EVIL, a purposeful dismantling of the greatness of America, the road to bankruptcy and a cataclysmic event will ensue. However, we are Americans and we MUST stand for the bravery and excellence of our fore-fathers and fight for our country and our liberties.

Those doctors, the USA just offered less than the “cost of delivering the service”, will find themselves welcome in Canada where they get paid just fine!

USA citizens can go to Canada and pay cash for health care, receive the same or better care, and pay less in cash for the entire visit than they currently pay on their deductible!

Ben Laden is dancing in his flat! America voted to destroy its economy and he did not have to do anything! Oh, you believe, but just how?:

Business will now have to demand proof every month from every employee that he/she has coverage in force; or pay for that coverage or pay a massive fine per employee=business bankruptcy act of 2010!

Doctors will drop medicare because the reimbursements are lower than the cost of providing the service; most seniors will be left to die or be treated in emergency rooms when it is too late to save them; bye bye grandma act of 2010!

And how are you going to get a doctors appointment when 30,000,000, many not working, new patients show up for “free” health care while you still work to pay for yours and theirs!

Having moved to Israel two years ago I threw my lot in with my fellow Zionists, albeit in the heart of the jihadist driven Middle East.

IF I ever had a doubt, as to whether or not I made a mistake, leaving behind the land of the free, the home and the brave, for a life in the heart of the biggest flashpoint in the world, I am now convinced that I did not leave the US that I grew up in behind, rather a bastardized form of it.

I left behind one America, a castrated facsimile of its former self. The US as we all know it will NEVER be the same, as it puts its lot in with the socialist ‘paragons’ of equal distribution for all.

While Israel is currently functioning as a capitalist bastion of economic freedom, it leaves alot to be desired, as it too is shackled by many socialist, hallucinatory constraints. HOWEVER, coming to Israel was an ideological move, so I would rather take my chances in the none to perfect Israel, rather than place my lot in with the (amped up on steroids) socialist takeover of the late, great USA.

It should also be noted, most of the ills foisted upou many people of otherwise good will has often been hidden under the deceptive mantle of ‘human rights’, ‘progressivism’-as if who in their right mind (no pun intended) is against progress !)-’equal rights’, (as IF Obama and the average ghetto kid in the Bronx will EVER be equal),as well as all other gobblygook terms conjured up to fool the clueless public.

Not to be outdone, my fellow Jews have so perversely twisted the term ‘tikkun olam’(repairing the world)that it cannot even be called a bastardized version of its original intent, as such language is too mild to describe what they have done to it.

Therefore, the lessons learned for the next generation are many, but ONE stands out above all – NEVER base ones life on catch phrases, where ‘hope and change’ rules ones mindset.

After all, one may likely live to regret such fantastical, magical thinking, where ones only ‘hope’ left centers around hoping that the promised change doesn’t kill you!

In related news, French President Nicholas Sarkozy’s ruling party lost absolute majority in the legislature in yesterday’s elections. A coalition of Social Democrats and Greens now hold 55% of the seats.

The “enlightened elite’” of France told horror stories of how Sarkozy’s policies were “taking away our unique European way of life”- think long vacations, guaranteed job security, and cradle-to-grave everything. Much like what Obama dreams of installing here.

Actually, all Sarkozy did was point out that somebody has to pay for all this largesse’- and there wasn’t enough money in the European Union as a whole to keep footing the bill for France by itself.

What France just proved, and what the Democrats here are proving, is that as long as what Ayn Rand referred to as the “looters” in society can keep making promises, and “robbing Peter to pay Paul” to keep the people from noticing the contradictions in their “arguments”, they can get, and keep, power.

The reason I bring up France is that if you look at France today, you will see Obama’s vision of America for the near term. As for the long term, no state on Earth is exactly like what he seems to desire. Although Red China comes close.

What Obama, and the French statists, seem not to understand is that sooner or later, the well runs dry. Eventually, you run out of pockets to pick. And the ability to print money is not the same thing as the ability to create wealth. This, by the way, is something the old men in Beijing are now learning- and they don’t like it one bit.

(On a personal note, I would pay real money to no longer have to listen to Democrats chanting “Jobs, Jobs, Jobs!” as if it were some sort of magickal incantation. The idea that government can “create jobs” is utter nonsense. Jobs are “created” by private business as a byproduct of the creation of wealth- by the old-fashioned means of working to sell goods and services people are willing to pay for. Anyone who does not understand this is too stupid to even be in public office, which is apparently less intellectually demanding than actually working for a living to begin with. End personal note.)

Put simply, there isn’t enough “free money” around to pay for Obama’s Dream World. Even if you confiscate every cent belonging to everyone, there still isn’t enough, because like any Ponzi scheme, expenses will always exceed available resources. If you want to destroy an economy, this is definitely the way to do it.

I’m sure that Obama believes in the idea that once the economy has crashed (which he will of course blame on everyone else), he will then be able to build a “perfect union” on the ruins. What he, and his cronies, do not understand is that the collapse of an economy, or a society, or a civilization is like an avalanche. Starting it is one thing- controlling it is something else entirely.

And trying to get in front of it and aim it generally just gets you buried as it rolls over you.

I live in Israel, and we have a form of socialized health insurance here, but with multiple health insurance/services providers.
I pay about 4.5% of my income for national health insurance.
In addition, there is about 5.5% for Social Security (e.g. unemployment benefits).
(There’s also income tax, of course, but I don’t want to think about that)
In addition, I extend my coverage for about $120 a year.

This year I hurt my knee and couldn’t walk. I made an appointment for surgery, and got a date 5 months in the future.
I called to see if I could do it semi-privately, and got a date 3 weeks in the future. The cost: about $900. You can guess which I chose.

I’ve seen the same thing with an elderly relative. If you need to see an expert, you get a date far in the future. If you fork over $150, you see the same guy in 2 weeks. In theory you can get some reimbursement from the health insurance company, but it’s like playing roulette. My relative needed a CT scan. I set an appointment. Fortunately, CT scans are covered by the insurance companies. Except for the scan she needed. Sorry! You pay: $200.
etc.

I don’t know what it’s like in America. I don’t know if this sort of treatment would be considered utopian or horrendous. I’d love to hear from people about what it’s like in the U.S. Here, on one hand, you *can* get treatment even if you haven’t got a dime. On the other hand, sometimes you have to wait a long time. If your case is urgent, doctors will pull strings to push you ahead in the line. But in general we say about our system – if you’re healthy it’s ok, if you just need a prescription, it’s ok. If you can wait half a year, it’s ok – otherwise, you’d better pay.

the horror that will unfold in the USA is not even contemplated by the idiots and the savior obuma.

to think that it has ever been about health is a sad sick but mainly cruel joke. since none of them have read the bill or know what is in it they could not care a fly speck about it. they only care (and this they know) is that the government now has all the pieces. all the cards so to say. they can dictate. they care about no one but themselves. they even hate each other. they won you lost.

I too am a Canadian. And I know full well that this is the road to Zimbabwe. Argentina ?…I wish that that was all. No ….the USA is now cast in the mould of africa. all that is bad in africa is the future for the USA

Mr. Solway, are you from Alberta? If not, then I cheer for Canadas future. I am often told by American friends that Albertans are the only Canadians worth talking to. But if you are not from here then it means that seeds of sanity have found purchase in hostile soils of provinces which occaisionally elect NDP* premiers.

If you are from Alberta, then I am slightly prouder of this province than I was a few minutes ago.

You have perfectly and most eloquently described my own thoughts and fears for our friends to the south (I can honestly say I love their country more than their faithless first lady who did not until there was a paycheck in it) on this, one of the darkest days in American history.

Americans, know that you have more friends up here than the media of either of our countries will have you know. Our thoughts and prayers are with you, and we pray that you will have the strength to carry you through the trials ahead. Not just for your own benefits, but for all mankind.

*If you Americans are wondering what the NDP is, imagine someone giving a political speech, and the following day Micheal Moore, Rev. “Kill Whitey” Wright and Bill Ayers hold a press conference to distance themselves from the speaker, that person would be a member of the NDP.

But as you accurately point out, Canada – the country one has when one has no country – might well withstand a dozen traitors of the Trudeau variety — and still have America.

But America was slaughtered yesterday.

And Canada and every other pseudo-free state and every dictatorship on Earth (every one of whose subject/citizens owes both his life and his every freedom to two hundred years of the willing sacrifice of America’s blood and treasure) will now also wither and die.

Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.
– George Bernard Shaw

And so apropos today. Errors like BHO are made by citizens who long to be subjects.

If you have any doubt, just read the verbal sewage penned by self-deluded, spineless half-wits like “Poor Citizen” who, trapped in a fantasy world with no basis is reality, thinks America is part of her “we”.

It’s unfortunate that we will all be subjected to what confabulating cretins like “Poor Citizen” so boastfully crave: serfdom.

Assuming the moniker is not sarcastic, Mr. “poor” takes and takes and takes, which is fine and dandy, as he does not have to pay – much less earn to be able to pay – for certain entitlements. All the while, Mr. “poor” claims sanctimony as the Noble Victim.

whats this “we” shit poor citizen? everything i have is because i wanted it, not because someone from on high told me i needed to have it, except for the infomercials that state i will be a better human being if i have what ever it is they are selling. this is what leadership is, getting a chance to do your best. that’s why America is the greatest, people come here to excel, if they need a ding dong to run their life they just need to stay in the shithole of a country they were originally in.

The Catholic Church hired as priests and monks people who didn’t believe in or wish to live by its dogma. Look what happened. The American people voted for anti-American, anti-freedom, anti-prosperity candidates. Look what happened. The long struggle by freedom against fascism and communism in this, the Age of Totalitarianism, is over. Now no where is free.

Obamunism is the American version of Leninism, Maoism, and Bolivarism. Prepare for wars of decline. Dark Age ahead.

For the Republicans to prove that a vote for them in November will be effective, let them in a state they control, abolish that state’s income tax. Otherwise, come November, even if the Democrats were swept from office, the Republicans will conserve Obama’s “gains,” just as Reagan conserved the Department of Education and the advances of the Carter administration; just as Eisenhower conserved and extended the New Deal; just as Nixon conserved and extended the Great Society.

“And I shouted out who killed the Kennedys and Obama” because after all it was the racist, right-wing, Rethuglican, Texans.

Since I grew up and came to my senses, I’ve argued that Canada (and Europe) have had the luxury to be what they are only because the USA exists as what it has been. They get to spend money on trifles while the USA protects them from the bad guys. If that’s about to change “fundamentally”, all I can think to say is, “Duck and cover!” It’s about to get fundamentally interesting. Poor Citizen, bend over, maybe you’ll enjoy it.

For this president, the war he is declaring is to be fought right here on American soil against a late-awakened majority of his own countrymen, on whom he wishes to impose a political structure alien to their history, culture, economy, and feeling of exceptionalism. This is a president who is foisting a radical, far-left agenda on a center-right country and who will not be deterred from ramming his project into existence.

I said it from the getgo, before Obama was elected. That the internal assault on America would be more intense and severe than the external assault.

Unfortunately, some 53% of our population belonged to one of two groups: Either conscientiously dumbed down over decades and/or carried away by vapid statements and rhetorical flourishes. Maybe some percentage of both groups was looking to erase some legacy of “racial” guilt inside their own heads.

(Obama’s Soros backed $750 million campaign war chest didn’t hurt. It’s rather ironic that Obama disgracefully used his SOTU to attack the recent SCOTUS decision and “holes” in campaign finance. Just another dimension of his baldfaced hypocrisy, which he’s gotten away with time and again.)

You could see in Obama’s demeanor and inability to explain (truthfully) anything about the healthcare legislation that the details didn’t and don’t interest him at all. His minions, Harry & Nancy, worked up the arcane and convoluted details (including some 16,000 new FBI hires as “enforcers”) while he, the Grade A narcissist, prided himself on the big picture of “doing what’s right for America”.

What’s most shocking is that the forces of capitalism and what’s left of opposition inside the federal government seem almost flaccid, inert in slowing down the steamroller.

As you point out, the assault on Constitutional principles & the dumbing down of American citizens had been going on for a very long time before this thin-skinned authoritarian/socialist was even on the radar screen.

In 1991 my father had cancer and was refused medical treatment because he did not health insurance. He was dropped because he had insurance. It broke his heart and my familiy.s hearts. Did anybody care?

Today I read about an insurance company executive that was saying it “broke his heart” that this reform act was going to be passed into law. I am sure he and his wife (his kids are grown) will rest easy in their poor existence (a 27 room mansion on 19 acres).

We saw this coming before he was elected. American citizens never seem to learn from their tombstone mentality. Their jobs die, their health care will be destroyed,(unless the Supreme Court is still on the side of the citizens,) and their savings will be lost. Maybe then they will learn?

While you’re off reveling in delusion and class envy, give some thought to trying different meds. The ones you’re taking appear to be preventing you from forming a complete sentence or a coherent thought.

This is one of the most brilliantly articulated pieces of commentary I have read in years. Thank you. This is one for the archives. When I awoke this morning I was so angry I didn’t think I had the ability to take a breath. Thankfully all that has subsided. We CANNOT give up. The Republicans had better have a spine or be replaced with those who do. We just witnessed Demorats not give a damn about what happens to their careers as long as they take it on the chin for the revolution. We need the same type of attitude. We can’t forget that when the first American revolution was fought the a tiny minority of the population sis the heavy lefting. We are them now. We have to resist and defy. UNDER OUR WESTERN CODE OF CULTURAL PRINCIPLES WE HAVE A DUTY TO DEFY AN UNJUST LAW. That is what we believe in. This is the Civil Rights Movement of the 21st Century. RESISTANCE IS THE ONLY RESPONSE.

“It is only a poorly educated, materially pampered, emotionally driven, and largely ahistorical electorate that could have put a man like Obama into power”

Too true. The average American knows absolutely nothing about the history of this (now) once-great nation and doesn’t care either. Half of me weeps, the other half knows that his was the only logical outcome. God help us.

Here are the parts we object to:
The IRS to identify if you have “acceptable” coverage
If you don’t you receive a fine of $2,250 or 2% of your income which ever is higher
IRS can confiscate your refund and put a lien or judgment on you if you fail to pay
The IRS has already said it will need $10B & over 16,000 new agents just to enforce.
Almost half of this newly mandated health hell tax will be placed on the middle class for example a family of four making $66,150.
Oh and the kicker if you are an illegal alien, none of this applies to you but you still get the benefits.

So, what’s this commotion? Ain’t this guy promise that he’ll do that and that?
Was that Bertold Brecht who wrote: “The Ascension of Arturo U?” which the critics are fond to point at as an illustration of Hitler’s creeping to power?
I told you so -

Yes, Mr. David Solway, I had thought the same was eminently and clearly obvious since the election process began and I did some research.

With his background and record, there is no other conclusion to draw — (there is nothing in his past to indicate otherwise where were some — one? — America and Free-Market loving associate, some evidence of “centrality” or fiscal responsibility?) except for ungrounded and false “hope,” or as you say, deciding to practice self-censorship due to fear of joining the “conspiracy theorists.”

I haven’t the tinyest doubt that he never had any intention of stopping Iran from going nuclear. Who, with a smidgeon of sense would swallow that “plan” to “engage” Iran — that they would be open to his brand of “negotiations?” He’s not that stupid — but who would believe him is.

Keep in mind — “being paranoid doesn’t mean there is no one really out to get you.” You’ve composed a very well written article, as you usually do.

How far has Cloward-Piven fallen from the Lenin Tree?
You say, “Obama and his catwalk crowd are not to be intimately equated with Lenin and his Bolsheviks, but they are definitely in the same snack bracket.”

Yuri Bezmenev, Ex-KGB, in 1985, warned us (the precision of the warnings are amazing). Here is some of the text of the following video:

TO CHANGE THE PERCEPTION OF REALITY of every American,
to such an extent that
DESPITE AN ABUNDANCE OF INFORMATION,

NO ONE IS ABLE TO COME TO SENSIBLE CONCLUSIONS
IN THE INTERESTS OF DEFENDING THEMSELVES,
THEIR FAMILIES, THEIR COUNTRY….

EXPOSURE TO TRUE INFORMATION DOES NOT MATTER ANY MORE —
a person who is
“DEMORALIZED” is
UNABLE TO ASSESS TRUE INFORMATION —
the facts tell nothing to him — Even if I shower him with information, with authentic documents, with pictures.

EVEN IF I TAKE HIM BY FORCE TO [CHINA, CUBA, VENEZUELA]
the Soviet Union, and
SHOW HIM THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS, HE WILL REFUSE TO BELIEVE IT

DEMORALIZATION
takes at least 15-20 years … to educate one generation of students … Marxist-Leninist ideology pumped into heads of at least 3 generations [1985] of American students without being contradicted or challenged by the basic values of Americanism, American Patriotism.

[The SECOND STAGE of KGB Subversion program]:

DESTABILIZATION…

This time …
IT TAKES ONLY 2 to 5 YEARS TO DESTABILIZE A NATION,
what matters is essentials,
ECONOMY, FOREIGN RELATIONS, DEFENSE SYSTEMS…

TO DESTABILIZE YOUR ECONOMY…

ELIMINATE THE PRINCIPLE OF FREE MARKET COMPETITION…
PROMISE PEOPLE ALL KINDS OF GOODIES AND PARADISE ON EARTH…
NEVER MIND WHETHER THE PROMISES ARE FULFILLED OR NOT…

AND PUT A BIG GOVERNMENT IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
WITH BENEVOLENT DICTATORS [CZARS?]…

HE … WILL GO TO [MOSCOW] TO KISS THE BOTTOMS OF A NEW GENERATION OF [RUSSIAN, SYRIAN, IRANIAN] SOVIET ASSASSINS.

NEVER MIND–HE WILL CREATE FALSE ILLUSIONS THAT THE SITUATION IS UNDER CONTROL.

What a depressingly accurate essay. I bounced around in liberal coalitions long enough to learn that, at heart, their leaders are not motivated by any real intent to “make life better.” Instead, they are driven by a deep (though dilettantish) loathing of the middle class, by the selfish pleasure they take in witnessing the self-destructive tendencies of the underclass, and by a deeply adolescent rebelliousness.

They feed these habits (and they are habits) through a politics of accusation, by manufacturing crises and encouraging class hatred. They are very, very good at playing these games. They have bureaucratized accusation politics in every educational setting from kindergarden through graduate education. An entire generation is being trained to practice either self-loathing or serial accusation: this is the ideological fertilization of the Pivens/Ayers revolutionary agenda. It is already here, and David Soloway is absolutely correct to call it a war against America itself.

Excellent article, really great. I hope a lot of folks read it multiple times to soak every bit of it, especially, Perhaps America deserves Obama, the creature of a blinkered and self-deluded electorate, … . Thank you for writing and posting this article.

Anonymous

”This will not end well; one side or the other will be EXTREMELY disappointed and that will mean trouble. Pray.”

Had more people prayed for the willpower to defend their rights and the wisdom to recognize liars, rather than for material goodies, we would have never gotten to this point. Your rights are from God, and aside from the ultimate gift of his Son’s sacrifice, they’re the greatest of the gifts he gives us. It looks like an awful lot of people went along with the idea that rights come from government meaning that this is either our reward for ignoring where our rights come from or our final warning against doing so.

For decades now we have despised and castigated producers while glorifying the non-producing “consumers”. Those who want to keep what they earn are greedy, while those who would reap the fruit of the labors of others are noble.

Adina Kutnicki, and any other person who has emigrated to Israel from the US or Canada. Would be interested in corresponding with you about how that works. Israel is looking better and better each day. fairbanks99@hotmail.com Thanks!

Socialism will no longer pay for all this government. Taxing income falls far short so the next step is now required, taxing wealth that has already been taxed. This means taking trust funds, pro-athlete and hollywood money, just to name a few. In other words, Communism.

We’d better steel ourselves under Obamacare for a grisly spike in the death toll among our own elderly, right here in America, in numbers large enough to rival those during the Holocaust.

From the democrat agenda point of view, that’s among the most positive results of this bill. You mention the Holocaust, but to Muslim Barry and his democrat crew, the jewish elderly who die are just icing on the cake.

The only care in this bill and process is the care democrats have taken in creating a smokescreen for their cold blooded goals, including their goal of reducing the population. But look on the bright side, even if this is all as bad as the worst predictions, there’s a new wave of Atheists who have set out to prove that “Christian Charity” is no big deal by exceeding them in charity work and charitable donations. Doesn’t that mean that we’ll be seeing at least a doubling of what’s available through charities to help those in need?

Obama’s right-hand man Rahm Emanuel’s older brother, Ezekiel Emanuel, is Obama’s health policy advisor, and a euthanasia advocate. Worse than Jack Kevorkian, because Jack’s motive was “mercy.” Zeke, however, limits medical coverage for the the elderly and disabled to serve the common good! Not quite like it was in Nazi Germany, where they murdered them outright, but close. Obamacare’s cruel, draconian cuts to Medicare and Medicare Advantage for the “common good” will before long
result in a grisly death toll among the elderly in America, in numbers to rival even the Holocaust.

P.S. Carl Sesar to rashputin @ 40 – I wasn’t talking just about Jewish elderly, but all elderly in America.

Obama’s right-hand man Rahm Emanuel’ older brother, Ezekiel Emanuel, is Obama’s health policy advisor, and a euthanasia advocate. Worse than Jack Kevorkian, because Jack’s motive was “mercy.” Zeke, however, limits medical coverage for the elderly and disabled to serve the “common good”! Not quite like it was in Nazi Germany, where they murdered them outright, but close. Obamacare’s draconian cuts to Medicare and Medicare Advantage for the “common good” will result in a death toll of elderly to rival even the Holocaust.

P.S. to rashputin @ 44 – I didn’t mean just Jewish elderly, but all elderly in America,

??? Who cares what people think, the guy has a reason to keep his records hidden or he wouldn’t do it. If he weren’t afraid to have his birth certificate, of all things, hidden away he wouldn’t do it. So, if not the fact that he’s not a citizen, then what? Pretty straight forward logic to me. You never know, just any day some hacker may discover a treasure trove of information about good old Barry and dump in a few hundred different places for all the world to see.

I realize that you weren’t specificially singling Jewish folks out, I just wanted to point out that there are many among the Barry organization who think the elderly dying is good, but that elderly Jews dying is extra good. I’m sure all elderly are at risk, but I’m also sure that Senators and Representatives statistically under represented just as I’m sure some other groups will be statistically over represented.

This column summarizes my own thinking about Obama and current leftists. There are a few politically very incorrect thoughts I’ve had.

1) Modern leftists are the enemy.

I mean that literally, they intend to destroy an entire way of life, our way of life.

They’d like to take away as much of your money as they can, they’d like to regulate as much of your activities as they can and they’d like to have their own behaviour (see, I’m from Canada too) left untouched. So Al Gore, Streisand and Tom Friedman own gigantic homes with huge carbon footprints and they want to enjoy that lifestyle, but you can’t. Leftists don’t believe in anything other than making sure they’re in charge of you and me.

2) Leftists have no rules, no belief structure, no goals to accomplish, other than #1 above.

Leftists don’t believe in logic, single standards or consistency in thought. They’ll use double standards or no standards when it suits them. They’ll use contradictory premises (look it up, in logic, using contradictory axioms means you can prove anything you want), lies, anything, to “win” an argument. It’s all OK because they live to achieve one thing, which is point #1 above.

3) Leftists use lies both strategically and tactically.

Obama has lied and continues to lie, the MSM lies to cover his lies, etc etc. But anyone who has read this column knows this about leftists and can probably think of many examples.

4) Leftists really know one thing, that the best defense to cover your own failings is to accuse your accuser of those very same faults.

So Leftists yell “Hypocrisy!” when they themselves are hypocrites, they yell “Liar!” when they lie, they yell “Racist!” when they apply purely racial standards. Ask any Chinese person trying to apply to a California college and they’ll tell you that they can’t get in because of racial preferences in favour (see, more Canadian spelling) of underperforming black students.

…………………

What will you do?

I get it now. Modern leftists want to destroy our economic lives, they’ll contradict any law, constitution, nothing is out of bounds for them.

The question for conservatives is this:

Do you want to live a good, honest life, and compete against leftists by using the rules? Because if you do, leftists, who live criminal, dishonest lives and make up their own rules as they go along, will defeat you.

Over time, they’ll grind you down, bit by bit, until all you have left are your principles. You will have no money, you’ll live by the law of the leftist jungle and you’ll be dependent on a leftist commissar to make a living. With Obamacare a government agency will decide which treatments are “cost effective”. Think about that. You won’t, your doctor won’t, a government employee will make that decision.

Modern leftists are the enemy. They know it, they know that all moderates and conservatives are the enemy and they’re fighting you every day, using whatever tactics that work, regardless of whether it’s legal or right.

What are you going to do about it?

Are you ready to abandon some cherished conservative principles in order to defeat the leftists?

I nearly quoted that to someone near the begining of Obama’s presidential campaign. Seemed silly at the time. Too dramatic. But now, perhaps not.

The ‘evilness’ of the health care bill aside, I noticed after O’s speech on Saturday, that he seemed to have a very odd reaction. He looked positively grim. Not like a man about to declare victory, but like a man who had crossed into the land of no return. Now I am thinking he made a deal with the Devil and the passage of this bill sealed his fate. Of course I don’t mean the Devil literally, but figuratively. Be it socialism, pure desire for power, whatever, I think we still do not really know the depths of this man’s true intentions.

You don’t suppose poor old Barry is behind in repaying his college loans or other loans? He’d be looking pretty down in the dumps if he was all wound up for a big victory and got a notice from some collection agency. Or, maybe Rahm ran into him in the shower and Barry was on the receiving end for a change.

Remember the 60’s radicals? The protests, the flag burning, the draft dodgers, the drugs, the spitting on U.S. soldiers at airports returning home from Viet Nam? Ever wonder what happened to them and their ideology? They overwhelmingly ended up in politics, journalism, academia and law. Not what most Americans would call “honest work”, but nonetheless fields that have proven useful for promoting their agenda. The one thing they all still have in common is their lifetime commitment of undermining God, country, the family and the military. To achieve these ends, they’ve orchestrated their efforts as follows:
- those that entered politics employ class warfare and racism to thwart our Constitution and push their progressive socialist reform.
- the media cooperates by presenting the “news” with unending liberal bias in order to desensitize the public to the liberal agenda.
- those in high school academia do their part by teaching political correctness and revisionist history (America was founded by greedy old white men that invented sexism, oppression and slavery) in order to dumb them down enough for their indoctrination into hard core Liberalism in college. The goal is to turn out young adults that are incapable of critical thought and will blindly accept the liberal propaganda that the politicians and the media present to them.
- the lawyers—especially those in the ACLU—bring expensive lawsuits against anyone who gets in the way, and the ones who become judges become activist judges, and collaborate by interpreting the law in a manner that advances their liberal causes.
These subversive components of the “Me Generation” (aka “Generation Zero”) and their unholy alliance have relentlessly pursued their agenda for forty years. Their efforts finally came to fruition with the election of Barack Obama and a Democratic majority in the House and Senate.

but no, he doesnt owe any student loans. If I remember correctly there were some shenannigans re buying his house/selling a piece of the property in Chicago that probably took care of those. that leaves rahm but I dont really want to go there. ewwww.

Solway is unbelievable, proud he is a fellow Canuck I posted this comment in another PJ article and it applies here as well:
Just read Heather Macdonalds series in City Journal. I always knew Obama was out to take down America. If he had any good intentions , he would have made slowing illegitimacy (single motherhood) or fostering the black family, his legacy not Health Care. Imagine if he had taken up the cause to end the welfare enslaved hell hole ghetto’s of Michigan, Illinois, Los Angeles… Oh but that might mean restoring America to that “Shinning City on the Hill” Imagine had he brought together men like Sowell, Clarence Thomas, Shelby Steele, and other successful black Americans to put together a movement that would begin the real transformation of the United States.
I just returned from a trip from Europe (Croatia) every single young married couple I met lived with there parents or inlaws, drove a clown car (mostly belonging to there parents) and some had black market jobs in Germany, to make ends meet. This is the European lifestyle Obama envisions for America. Doing with much less (in saving the planet). All I heard were the stories of high Taxes, and when I saw the cost of gas I just about choked. It is next to impossible to make ends meet, unless your part of the ruling class the leftover elite or the media elite. They are propagandized through a constant talk on television of “culture” They seem to be preoccupied with “kultura” theatre, arts, etc.. as if that is what replaces the desire for mobility and wanting more or a better life (like your own home!!!) So in essence it’s about doing with much less except you can get much gratification with taking the kids to plays, the theatre etc…Most nicer cars have been kicked in, this is seen as normal, people shrug it off as “well, socialism has created jealousy between those who have eeked out a better existence to those who have not” .This will never be accepted by the American people, there are way more ants than grasshoppers.http://www.city-journal.org/2010/20_1_chicago-crime.html

DAVID, a quite brilliant article. Hits the reader squarely where it does the most good. It’s a must for a 2nd and 3rd read. I’ll tell you something, David, a few months back the though occurred to me that Obama was trying to bring down the economy and once down, then he would be free to create a new country with different economics plus who knows what else. Then i dismissed that idea as not practical because that would take too long a time. But now, as i read what you say, i think again that maybe it is possible.
Manny

This is the best support for (the old America) from a Canadian, since that recording back in the 1970′s by a Canadian disk-jockey. Thank you! As for the old America, “the personal life is dead in America” (see Dr. Zhivago).

A republic in decline, barbarians at the gates, corrupt and inept emperors on the throne…not Rome476, United States 2010.

I’m with scythe(#27), RESISTANCE IS THE ONLY RESPONSE! We need 3-5 million in the streets of D.C. soon!

European Health care is not all that it is cracked up to be. It costs an absolute fortune. Perhaps Denmark might actually be making it work. But the Germans are getting very sceptical about it. The French system is running out of money. And the Spanish state is effectively bankrupt to the point that Spain will not be able to prop up it’s system any longer.

For example, take Ireland. 7% of the workforce work in one large entity that is an out-of-control bureacracy in charge of health. People get sick and stay on trolleys, because keeping them on trolleys is cheaper than keeping them on beds. (we get told this officially).

Everybody pays 12% PRSI for Government Social Services including public health. But this was not enough. So the a “Health Levy” was introduced – on top of PRSI – and it equates to 4% of income. But this only gets you the right to wait in a queue for treatment. Yes, that’s right – if you are sick you have to wait months for treatment.

So 75% of the population gets private health care insurance to get ahead in the queues. And the state charges the private healthcare companies an exhorbitant amount of money for access to the same hospitals that are made available for public healhcare. You can pay an expensive private insurance rate if you want a real private hospital.

The good news – The Democrats – political brothers of the corrupt Fianna Fail party, and the British Labour Party are going to introduce the same nonsensical approach into the US. The “Tammanny Hall” approach to running a country. Obama will run America like the Democrats have run Chicago.

Technology was introduced to improve the paperwork in the Irish health system, and it failed, because the staff sabotaged the project by not telling the truth, because contracts were given to cronies, and because the engineers on the project were encouraged to have drunken parties instead of actually doing the job they were supposed to do.

But….the whole project has been a complete success for the union bosses….which means that the unions get stronger….they get more cash….which can be used to prop up the Democratic Party….Here we go again….Tamannay Hall Inc.

The greatest joke of all about the Irish health system….thirty years ago….it was managed by a bunch of old nuns….and they did a better job…..with basic technology….no money….one third the staff…and much less hospital space….
Yeah that’s righ a bunch of old women did a better job that a bunch of political hacks and cronies (90% male and members of the correct golf clubs).

Last night I wrote a formal letter to President Obama informing him that, for what it’s worth, I’m hereby withdrawing my personal consent for him to govern this nation on the grounds that he knowingly is carrying out unconstitutional, intolerable acts. Along with this withdrawal of consent is the collateral statement that henceforth I consider President Barack Obama to be the centerpiece of an illegal Presidency. Therefore, any treaties or agreements with foreign countries he makes will be null and void. Any domestic actions he makes are null and void. Until this illegal President is removed, and because he is breaking federal and state laws every day he continues to act as President, the laws, likewise, apply not to the people. I pay no taxes, state nor federal. I follow no laws, state or federal. I have formed a defensive perimeter and consider myself a defender of the United States of America. This will be my last entry on the internet. I’ve canceled all social networking sites. This will be my final internet entry. Over and out.

I’ve been thinking more about Solway’s column and I have a counter argument to my own post#50.

I watched Obama sign the HCR bill today. He actually said “This is the biggest middle class tax cut in history”.

That’s a lie, we all know it. But he’s lied from the beginning. Leftists have distorted facts, they gamed the CBO scoring process, they’ve flouted Senate rules but they won. Not only that, they’re lying right now in their victory speeches. No one is calling them out on those lies.

The fact is, the Republicans won’t get 60 Senate seats in 2010, even if they win all the Democrat seats being contested. The best they can do is get to 59, assuming they run the table. And even if they get to 59 and pass a bill to repeal Obamacare, Obama will veto it.

Even in 2012, it’s a long stretch to get to 60. Which means Obamacare won’t be repealed, even if the GOP wins the House, Senate and presidency in 2012. You can hope, I still hope it can happen, but it’s not a good bet. The Democrats know it, they know that Obamacare will very likely persist forever.

The thought that bothers me today is this: Is being a conservative a losing strategy? Are we all chumps?

Think about it. Always telling the truth, arguing using sound logic and facts, actually means you can only present an argument one way, the right way. It should have been the most powerful way to present an argument.

But look at it from the point of view of a leftist. He can lie, make up his own facts, distort your sound arguments in untruthful ways. He can use zero, double or however many standards he wants, whenever he wants.

You have one way to win, a leftist has many. It’s like you show up with one gun and he has ten, each more powerful than your gun because he’s not limited by any bounds on how much he lies, distorts and invents. Your gun is limited by truth, logic and consistency.

All my life I thought leftists would lose because their methods were unsound, if not criminal. Yet I watched Obamacare being signed today. They won.

Was Lincoln wrong? Does it matter that you can’t fool all of the people all of the time? It sure looks like if you fool enough of the people enough of the time, you win almost all of the time.

The Reagan tax cuts are being undone, the welfare reforms by Gingrich have already been undone in the Stimulus Bill, high marginal tax rates from the Carter era are returning. Everything conservatives fought for since 1980 is being overturned. The constitution itself is being shredded by Obama and the Democrats. Yet Obama’s poll numbers are only just below 50%. Why aren’t they in the low 20′s?

The whole Obamacare saga frightens me, not only because of what they’ve passed but because it’s showing everyone that lying and cheating works.

We conservatives are unhappy now. But can we win ever 60 Senate seats and the presidency to overturn Obamacare? Because if we can’t, Obama has proved that doing everything the “wrong” way still wins in the end.

So to counter my own thoughts, there are several ways conservatives can go.

1) Fight the good fight, the right way. And lose forever. Depressing.

2) Fight the leftists using their methods, which means acting like a leftist. You’ll win but only after losing your soul.

3) Join the leftists. Force conservatives to give up their hard earned money and give it to you.

Choice #3 is so easy. All you have to do is vote “Democrat” and you’ll get free money, taken by force from the ever dwindling number of conservatives. No risk, no work, no worries. You’ll be richer than conservatives and get to tell them how to live their lives.

That was the way thing were run in the old Soviet Union. It worked for 70 years. Remember, it was good to be a Communist party member, everyone else was a slave. Leftists are trying to make everyone else a slave. You can choose to be a conservative and become a slave or you can join the leftists and become a master.

It was hard to watch Obama and Biden celebrating their victory and not think that being a lying, cheating leftist is a failed strategy.

I think I can understand how the old Roman Republic died, how Hitler was elected and how the Roman Empire eventually evaporated. The liars and cheaters kept winning. Conservatives couldn’t stop the flood because the proponents of improper ways of thinking kept defeating them.

Look at recent history. Fuld, former CEO of Lehman Brothers, destroys his company, leaves billions of dollars for taxpayers to pay, but he walks away with $400 million dollars in compensation. All the AIG executives who created the credit default swap market left the company with billions in compensation. George Soros has billions and pays millions to support the Daily Kos and other leftist political groups around the US. The founders of Apple, Google, Microsoft are all Democrats and leftists, but they have tens of billions of dollars. Hollywood is almost all leftists, they generate billions of dollars of profits.

Someone show me that being a conservative is a winning strategy because it sure doesn’t look that way to me.

IMO, that’s the scary significance of Obama and Obamacare. On top of all those other examples of successful leftist cheaters, Obama is proving that lies work. Today, he shoved it right in our faces.

@68. Libertarian Activist: – Someone show me that being a conservative is a winning strategy because it sure doesn’t look that way to me.

L.A., I think perhaps you just need to examine your assumptions a little more closely. Specifically:

1) Fight the good fight, the right way. And lose forever. Depressing.

First off, I don’t believe you can equate “being conservative” to a strategy. It’s a conviction (and it’s defined differently for every conservative, in my experience) that is derived from hard experience about the world, usually after years spent supporting one’s self and others. One has either reached that conviction, for one reason or another, or one has not.

EVEN IF the only thing you’re looking for out of life is “winning”, deciding to abandon your convictions and faking the rest of your life as a leftist is not going to make you George Soros, John Fuld or one of the Hollywood glitterati. Those successes come from something far removed from leftist ideology. Every single one of them made their fortunes through the magic of capitalism. Identify the right market need at the right time and you can too. No soul-selling required.

The bottom line is that conservatives, by and large, simply don’t want to fight. While they will rarely back down from a fight, those I know arrange their lives so they don’t have to. They want to enjoy individual freedom, raise their children to a better standard of living than they had, maybe take an occasional vacation, donate to the local charity, obey the law and not have to constantly worry about some authoritarian commie in government telling them they must work an extra day per week so that 1/3 of the population won’t have to. What I’m getting at is that there’s no evidence that fighting the good fight, the right way, is a losing proposition because, quite literally, conservatives have not yet BEGUN to fight. At least not recently. Not in any really large-scale, organized capacity.

The Founders endured abuse upon abuse for decades before enough of their countrymen were pushed to the point of reacting with any degree of force. So it will be in our time, apparently. The key is in understanding the ways that’s most likely to happen, and organizing to improve the odds that things move back in the direction of Constitutionally-limited government, preferably without any violence, when they do. Stuff is happening along these lines all over the country. And I think we’re only at the very early stages of learning what happens when people fight the good fight, the right way. We haven’t seen that for over 200 years in this context.

>First off, I don’t believe you can equate “being conservative” to a strategy. It’s a conviction (and it’s defined differently for every conservative, in my experience) that is derived from hard experience about the world, usually after years spent supporting one’s self and others.

I used the word “strategy” as an umbrella term for all the kinds of conservative beliefs.

But to discuss the issue on the terms you mentioned, is hard experience in the world, truly a factor in the great fortunes that have been formed in the last couple of decades. Check out the the backgrounds of the two Google founders, or any successful Hollywood performer, or virtually any of the venture capitalists in Silicon valley. What I see are people who are extremely left wing. How is that possible? Or to propose a tougher hypothesis, does going though the hard knocks of life and eventually becoming a conservative _prevent_ you from great financial success?

The issue of financial success was evident in 2008, Obama managed to get almost $1B in donations, McCain had to rely on public funding. Democrats could rely on the deep pockets of Hollywood, Wall St and Silicon Valley donations, conservatives could rely on the deep pockets of no one. Financial success led to electoral success. Obama simply swamped McCain in media buys in the swing states and had money to hire tens of thousands of paid workers to get out the Democrat vote. McCain couldn’t afford to do any of that.

It’s nice to believe that political success can be achieved with little money, but I think that’s delusional.

>Those successes come from something far removed from leftist ideology. Every single one of them made their fortunes through the magic of capitalism. Identify the right market need at the right time and you can too.

The question is, why are virtually all the great fortunes in Hollywood, Silicon Valley and Wall St attained by leftists? Is it an accident, or is there a cause and effect? The inverse question is, why are there virtually no conservatives in those wealthy groups? Does being a conservative actually prevent you from becoming wealthy, which then prevents you from funding an effective conservative movement?

I hate that idea. But there’s literally billions of dollars of evidence to show that something significant is going on. I see no wealthy conservatives in the tech industry, everyone is a leftist.

>The bottom line is that conservatives, by and large, simply don’t want to fight. While they will rarely back down from a fight, those I know arrange their lives so they don’t have to.

If that is the bottom line, then maybe that’s why the Democrats won the health care fight.

Sadly, I agree with you. Leftists are relentless, they’ll spend more time, more money and more effort to take over educational institutions and fight elections. Conservatives want to be left alone and because they believe in individual effort, they’re suspicious of mass actions. It’s like herding cats. Which is why I felt great despair watching Obama sign the Obamacare act into law.

Leftists band together and fight together, conservatives live apart and want to be left alone. Leftists won this battle. Is there a correlation?

The practical question is, can conservatives win 60 seats in the Senate and the presidency in 2012? That’s the only way to repeal Obamacare. Will conservatives have the will to fight to repeal Obamacare and win 60 seats? Can conservatives fight to overcome the smears and lies of the leftists? Do conservatives have enough money to overcome the leftists 10:1 advantage in political contributions?

We’ll find out in a few years. But recent history is a very bad omen. Leftists managed to smear and brand Palin as a hillbilly and a moron. She’s obviously not that, but I’ve been astounded at the number of _women_ who think that is true, including my own sister who has PhD in genetic engineering and should know better.

All I’m saying is that I see lots of evidence that the leftist way of improper thought, lies and distortions, has worked. As a thinking conservative, I can’t deny reality and hard facts.

Doubt is beginning to seep into my belief being a conservative is the best way to political success. It doesn’t look that way at the moment. Too many uneducated leftists. Conservatives appear to have conceded the fight to educate the young over the past two decades. Now there are too many committed leftists and they’re now outvoting conservatives.

That’s what I meant by the difference between leftists and conservatives.

Leftists will turn out thousands to protest a conservative speaker and are willing to live with the hypocrisy of claiming to believe in freedom of speech.

Conservatives won’t do anything remotely similar, because they really do believe in freedom of speech.

Net result: Leftists prevent a conservative from speaking, no leftist speaker will ever suffer the same fate. Leftists win, conservatives lose. Over and over again.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I always believed that that kind of leftist behaviour would inevitably lead to political defeat. That hasn’t happened and it should have by now. Obama lies repeatedly and his poll numbers aren’t in the low 20′s.

People simply are no longer outraged at leftist behavior. Why? Because in the US, as in the whole West, during the last 50 years virtue has declined in a spectacular, though gradual way. Machiavellian liars can win in a people that feels no longer revulsion at amoral behavior.
The economic and political decline of a people is always preceded by its moral decline.
In US culture-as in the whole West- true goodness is mocked and saints are villified while villains are glorified.
In such a culture virtue no longer pays.

@72. Libertarian Activist: – I used the word “strategy” as an umbrella term for all the kinds of conservative beliefs.

Well then that’s a problem, because conservatism isn’t a “strategy”, it’s a mindset, and the convictions generally associated with that mindset are fairly well orthogonal to what makes someone a financial success.

Besides, in that regard, it looks like you’re cherry-picking your success stories a bit, and limiting them to cases where one of two fundamental human behaviors comes into play: guilt and/or moral adolescence. Neither of those things can prevent you from becoming successful under the right circumstances (just look at BHO), but both are very strongly correlated with a psyche that is ripe for the socially suicidal insanity inherent in leftist ideologies – especially if, like most folks in Hollywood for instance, you dropped out of high school or college and spent life in the entertainment world bubble, where the standard ploy – Appeal to Emotion – is no longer a fallacy.

- The question is, why are virtually all the great fortunes in Hollywood, Silicon Valley and Wall St attained by leftists?
Are they? Have you done an extensive survey? Denzel Washington’s political affiliation hasn’t hurt his career. Jon Voight seems to have done okay. And Bruce Willis. And Gary Senise. Last I checked, I believe Carly Fiorina was worth over $2B, net. And even Sarah Palin is probably doing pretty well financially right now, I’d imagine. I’m sure there are hundreds of others, in all the sectors you mentioned. Not that it matters.

- All I’m saying is that I see lots of evidence that the leftist way of improper thought, lies and distortions, has worked. As a thinking conservative, I can’t deny reality and hard facts. Doubt is beginning to seep into my belief being a conservative is the best way to political success.

You’re mistaking leftist ideology for straight up corruption, I’m afraid. There are plenty of corrupt conservatives in the world as well. Corruption knows no political affiliation and it always works… until you get caught, and then it doesn’t. Your mistake is understandable, given the inherently morally corrupt nature of leftist ideology to begin with, which must ultimately rely on corruption to achieve ends that are destructive of society in general. When there’s no objective Truth, no objective Right or Wrong, there’s no such thing as corruption. Anything goes. The end justifies the means. If that’s what you’re into, well then it’s probably just time to shut up about it, sit down and make your choice. Sounds like you’ve already pretty much given up anyway. If you think success at any cost is an acceptable substitute for principles and character, then don’t let the door hit you in the ass, as they say.

- I always believed that that kind of leftist behaviour would inevitably lead to political defeat. That hasn’t happened and it should have by now. Obama lies repeatedly and his poll numbers aren’t in the low 20’s.

“Should have”? According to… er… you? BHO’s Strong Disapproval numbers are almost the same as his Disapproval numbers. There’s no getting around the significance of that. His approval has dropped consistently since the day he took office.

BHO will get a “bump” from the segment of his base who thought he was dropping the ball on socialized medicine, but as it becomes general knowledge just how big a stinker his bill is, and how long it’s going to be before it does anything but create new, economy-destroying taxes and mandates, that’s going to change.

Unless the Democrats manage to fart out some sort of Reichstag Fire, that’s most likely the last improvement BHO’s going to see in his approval. He and the Democrats are frantically flushing the economy down the toilet and flushing the future of every voter along with it. That’s going to get a response in November. Meanwhile, everything left in his agenda will do one thing: kill the economy, and the People are smelling that. He’s run out the clock on being able to credibly blame Bush or the Republicans for anything. They’ve been out of power for over three years now and that time period has seen the worst American decline in decades. All the GOP really needs to do is start pressing that point at every opportunity, because after the reality of all that begins to sink in, BHO will be lucky to have numbers in the 20s. But as always, anything can happen and time will tell.

>Well then that’s a problem, because conservatism isn’t a “strategy”, it’s a mindset, and the convictions generally associated with that mindset are fairly well orthogonal to what makes someone a financial success

I suspect everyone knows what I’m talking about, left wing vs right wing, liberal vs conservative, people who want Obamacare vs people who don’t want it.

When you say the convictions “are fairly well orthogonal to what makes someone a financial success”, what do you mean by that? Orthogonal means vectors or factors 90 degrees from each other, or statistically independent. Are you saying that having a conservative mindset means no correlation to financial success?

>Besides, in that regard, it looks like you’re cherry-picking your success stories a bit, and limiting them to cases where one of two fundamental human behaviors comes into play: guilt and/or moral adolescence.

>- The question is, why are virtually all the great fortunes in Hollywood, Silicon Valley and Wall St attained by leftists?
Are they? Have you done an extensive survey? >

Yes, I have done an extensive survey in one area that I work in, computing technology. Based on my own experience, I assert that it is you who has cherry picked the data.

When you examine the politics of the venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, they’re all leftists. I’ve only met a handful of conservatives in the tech industry, the best example is the one you mentioned Carly Fiorina. The ratio of leftist to conservative in the tech sector is probably 10:1.

I don’t circulate in Hollywood, but for every conservative that you find, I could list 10, 20 or 50 leftists. Are there conservative actors? Yes, but you could list them on the fingers of two hands. That was why I used the phrase “virtually all”. I wasn’t saying there are no conservatives in Silicon Valley and Hollywood, but that there are very few.

But you’ve ignored my most important and decisive data point, the 10:1 advantage in campaign contributions the Democrats attained in the 2008 election cycle. IIRC, contrary to the MSM myth, about 2/3 of that money came from wealthy contributors. Either conservatives refuse to contribute to Republican candidates, or they don’t have the money. From my observation, it’s the latter.

You also ignored my other data point, who are the conservative counterparts to George Soros, Steven Spielberg, Steven Jobs, Bill Gates and the Google trio, Schmidt, Brin and Page? All of them contribute a great deal of money and fundraising time to the Democrats. Again, look at the political contribution data, the majority of GOP money came from small donations. Scott Brown showed that to be the case, most of his money came from small donations.

>- I always believed that that kind of leftist behaviour would inevitably lead to political defeat. That hasn’t happened and it should have by now. Obama lies repeatedly and his poll numbers aren’t in the low 20’s.

>“Should have”? According to… er… you? BHO’s Strong Disapproval numbers are almost the same as his Disapproval numbers. There’s no getting around the significance of that. His approval has dropped consistently since the day he took office.

You’ve answered a different question than I originally posed. I am well aware of his strong approval/disapproval numbers, I track them every day.

My point was this: Obama has lied in virtually everything he has said, right from the Democrat primaries to Sunday, when he gave his victory speech on Obamacare. I lived through the Watergate scandal, Nixon was found to have lied about his involvement and his poll numbers fell to his hard core supporters down to the low 20′s. BTW, I was in that group.

Obama has lied outrageously and the damage he has done to US finances is enormous, the deficit is now approaching two trillion dollars. So why hasn’t Obama’s support collapsed? Surely he should have paid for his lies by now?

But in fact, his political support was strong enough to pass Obamacare. I find that simply astounding.

>BHO will get a “bump” from the segment of his base who thought he was dropping the ball on socialized medicine, but as it becomes general knowledge just how big a stinker his bill is, and how long it’s going to be before it does anything but create new, economy-destroying taxes and mandates, that’s going to change.

>Unless the Democrats manage to fart out some sort of Reichstag Fire, that’s most likely the last improvement BHO’s going to see in his approval. He and the Democrats are frantically flushing the economy down the toilet and flushing the future of every voter along with it. That’s going to get a response in November.

I hope you’re right. But the bill has been discussed for over a year and the polls are already 60-40 against. Everyone must surely know what Obamacare all about by now.

The question is, will independent voters simply accept Obamacare and start re-arranging their finances to work within this new government centric system? If so, the anger will drain away and Obamacare will be permanent.

As I keep saying, the only practical question is, can the Republicans get to 60 senate seats, win the House and the presidency in 2012, something they haven’t managed in almost 100 years.

Your second point is _exactly_ what I’m saying, that since leftist ideology is inherently corrupt, there is no way that leftists could avoid being corrupt themselves. Once they’re accepted that corruption, it follows that they would use corrupt methods to compete against conservatives.

This is precisely where I started this discussion. Leftists _are_ corrupt because their ideology, which you stated quite well, rejects objective Truth and corruption is the inevitable result.

>If that’s what you’re into, well then it’s probably just time to shut up about it, sit down and make your choice. Sounds like you’ve already pretty much given up anyway. If you think success at any cost is an acceptable substitute for principles and character, then don’t let the door hit you in the ass, as they say.

It’s taken a while, but that is the question that I originally posed.

The question is, how far are conservatives willing to go to defend their mindset? Are you willing to adopt the debating techniques of the leftists in order to defeat them? Those techniques invariably are improper but effective.

>If you think success at any cost is an acceptable substitute for principles and character, then don’t let the door hit you in the ass, as they say.

Your statement is exactly what I’m talking about. Leftists always (and I mean always) resort to ad hominem attacks, [i]which is exactly what you just did[/i].

You’ve shown that you’re willing to use that against a fellow conservative. Will you use that technique against a leftist?

I’ve never crossed that line, as you just did to me. Will you do that to a leftist in order to help the Republicans win enough seats in 2012 to repeal Obamacare? I’m not sure that I will, but my fear is that in choosing to compete that way, leftists will defeat conservatives.

Obama and the Democrats have won, using lies. The hard evidence is before our eyes. Their techniques, which would have failed in the 70′s, 80′s and 90′s, have now been proven to work. You can’t ignore that fact.

Can the conservative mindset prevail in an environment where corrupt leftist ideology and debating techniques have obviously succeeded?

If in 2012 Obama wins the presidency and the Republicans fail to get 60 Senate seats, then conservatives will have failed, in spite of the incredibly obvious challenge of Obamacare. Obama won in 2008 with deception, he lied about virtually everything he’s done since being elected.

In 2012, he won’t have that cover. Conservatives will probably debate the way they always do, with sound logic, correct facts and consistency. If that doesn’t work in 2012 (and by work, I mean House majority, 60 Senate seats and the presidency), that will be a decisive victory for the leftists, just as Midway was a decisive victory for the US against Japan in WW2.

I greatly fear that the Obamacare victory signals a sea change in the political environment. That change is very evident in the few high profit industries, entertainment, finance, legal and high tech. Conservatives are vastly outnumbered in those sectors. The leftist economic advantage appears to be asserting itself in a political advantage. We’ll find out in 2012 if that advantage is temporary or permanent.

Those aren’t strategies, so… premise fail. Look, I’m happy to continue pointing out silliness of your own defeatist nonsense as long as you realize you’re outed as an Axelturfed Concern Troll. If that works for you, do read on…

- Are you saying that having a conservative mindset means no correlation to financial success?
That’s exactly what I’m saying.

- Yes, I have done an extensive survey …
When you publish your research, please post a link.

- The ratio of leftist to conservative in the tech sector is probably 10:1.
You’re trying to tie financial success to political ideology but you haven’t identified any causal relationship, let alone any evidence for such a relationship. Meanwhile, “leftists” comprise about 1-in-5 citizens in the United States. Go figger. Now, whom someone can be convinced to vote for or to donate money to, that’s an entirely different question. I’m sure there are millions of people in the country who, reeling from 8 years of relentless propaganda spewing from every Left Wing Media outlet, either donated to or voted for Captain Utopia, but that didn’t make them “leftists”.

- But you’ve ignored my most important and decisive data point, the 10:1 advantage in campaign contributions the Democrats attained in the 2008 election cycle.
That’s just an observation. You never actually made a point, much less a decisive one. Meanwhile, the 2008 election was the most aberrant in our history, so it’s not clear how you think you can use it as a representative example.

- You’ve answered a different question than I originally posed.
You didn’t pose a question, you made an assertion, i.e., that BHO’s lies should have dragged his numbers down by now. That’s just your opinion, based on… well… pretty much nothing, it looks like. You’re not going to get very far comparing BHO and Nixon. The Left Wing Media idolized the former to a degree we have never seen in the U.S.A., boasting that their support gave him up to 15% of the vote. They relentlessly demonized the latter. BHO’s lies haven’t bit him in the ass yet because too few people are even aware of them. If it weren’t for the Internet, hardly anyone would be aware of them.

- But in fact, his political support was strong enough to pass Obamacare. I find that simply astounding.
No you don’t. That would require having paid no attention at all to what went down the last few weeks. “Political” support was not in favor of socialized medicine. The Democrats lied, then rammed the bill through with a procedural technicality that THEY claimed – of course, when the shoe was on the other foot – was never intended to address such far-reaching, controversial legislation. That’s corruption, not ideology. Corruption must be exposed before the People will respond to it, and with The Left Wing Media running interference for the Corruptocrats, exposure is going to take a while.

- Everyone must surely know what Obamacare all about by now.
Look, Ms. Concern Troll, even members of CONGRESS didn’t know what they were voting on. The leftists who supported it are only JUST NOW finding out that it doesn’t contain what they were told they were supporting. Don’t pretend to be an imbecile just for the sake of extending an argument.

- Your second point is _exactly_ what I’m saying, that since leftist ideology is inherently corrupt, there is no way that leftists could avoid being corrupt themselves.
This is precisely what I wrote. You obviously missed the part about how THEY don’t see it as corruption.

- Are you willing to adopt the debating techniques of the leftists in order to defeat them?
I don’t plan to debate them so, no. I plan to continue working with those who are directly educating people about the limits our Constitution places on government, and why. With the unconstitutional passage of the socialized medicine bill, we now have an excellent case study.

- Leftists always (and I mean always) resort to ad hominem attacks, [i]which is exactly what you just did[/i].
Look up ad hominem. It clearly doesn’t mean what you think it means.

> left wing vs right wing, liberal vs conservative, people who want Obamacare vs people who don’t want it.

>Those aren’t strategies, so… premise fail. Look, I’m happy to continue pointing out silliness of your own defeatist nonsense as long as you realize you’re outed as an Axelturfed Concern Troll. If that works for you, do read on…

I’ve had dozens of conversations with leftists. Their central theme is to talk about everything except the topic at hand. They’re attempting to distract.

My point in these posts is to do determine what the best way ahead is for conservatives to deal with Obamacare. The problem is the usual thing, examine the environment, determine your goal, know where you are and then, once you’re sure of those things, figure out the best way to get there.

Your arguing over whether being a conservative is a mindset, a strategy or philosophy, is, IMO, totally irrelevant.

I’ve seen leftist do this all the time, they define words they way they want, argue that their opponent isn’t using that word in the way that they define it, and then declare victory.

It’s a shallow, non rational way to argue a point. I never do that, I don’t think conservatives should argue that way.

Goy, you’re in combat mode, where you feel you must “win” every debating point, no matter how trivial, because you think we’re fighting. We’re not. We’re on the same side. Calm down, take off your combat helmet and put your thinking cap back on.

As I’ve said, I’ve talked with many leftists. I’ve experienced first hand their insults. Nothing you say here will affect me. Resorting to insults is pointless.

>- Are you saying that having a conservative mindset means no correlation to financial success?
>That’s exactly what I’m saying.

I disagree with you.

In the past, leftists tended not to run businesses at all, or at best medium size operations. I could understand that, they really weren’t interested or skilled at running a business.

However, you only have to look around and see billions of dollars flowing to the largest entertainment, technical and financial businesses and see that they’re almost all run by leftists at the top.

I suspect this is because we’re in an age of technical change. Conservatives conserve and aren’t good agents of change. Leftists want to change the world, so they’re naturally inclined to run disruptive businesses. That’s why I suspect it was Steve Jobs, a very left wing person, who introduced the extremely disruptive iPhone. And high profits come with the introduction of disruptive technology.

Leftists do this all the time. When confronted with data they don’t like, they deny it.

Let me put you on the spot. Google, Apple, Microsoft, Oracle, all Hollywood studios, almost all Hollywood actors and actresses, all financial institutions, the majority of law firms, they’re all staffed by leftists. You can use Google to do your own research. Schmidt, the CEO of Google, participated in the Obama campaign. Bill Gates and Steven Jobs are lifelong Democrats.

So, tell me the equivalent large, high profit companies run by conservatives? I can think of Carly and maybe Whitman. BTW, Carly was fired by HP and her severance package was about $50M, not $2B. Would anyone argue that Arnold is a conservative?

>- But you’ve ignored my most important and decisive data point, the 10:1 advantage in campaign contributions the Democrats attained in the 2008 election cycle.
>That’s just an observation. You never actually made a point, much less a decisive one. Meanwhile, the 2008 election was the most aberrant in our history, so it’s not clear how you think you can use it as a representative example.

That wasn’t an observation, it was hard data. You can’t ignore $1B for Obama and less than $89M for McCain. I assume since McCain chose public funding, he knew that he would have received less than $89M in private contributions, so the funding ratio was more than 10:1.

I know why you keep saying I haven’t made a point, even though I keep making it. Like I said, leftists always resort to denial when they don’t like something.

My point was this:

About 2/3 of Obama’s contributions came from wealthy individuals. McCain was unable to match those private contributions, nor were any Republican Senate or Congressional candidates.

My thinking is was this:
That is evidence that leftists have more money than conservatives in this current business era.

Why is that? Why has the Democratic Party reversed the decades long advantage that the Republicans had? In the past the GOP would routinely raise much more money than the Democrats, often 2:1, which is why the Democrats eventually insisted on the public option for funding. That was the only way they could match the GOP. Obama himself promised he would use public funding, until they discovered that they could raise far more than $89M and he reversed his decision.

Take note of that, Obama lied during the campaign and he still won.

>- But in fact, his political support was strong enough to pass Obamacare. I find that simply astounding.
>No you don’t. That would require having paid no attention at all to what went down the last few weeks.

Are you a mind reader now? Come on goy, raise your level of debate. Don’t argue in the gutter like a leftist.

Everything you said about how the Democrats rammed through Obamacare is correct. Using reconciliation, while strictly adhering to the rules (deficit had to be reduced) has never been used on such a huge piece of social engineering.

What I found astounding was that after a year of lying, political support for Obama and the Democrats still hadn’t fallen to the point where enough Democrats feared losing their seats in November.

Of course the poll numbers for Obama have fallen. But have you read the Cook report on the 2010 election cycle? About 50 Democrat seats are currently at risk, and then only by a few percentage points. Support for Obama is running about 46% approve, 53% disapprove. As anyone knows, Reagan and Clinton had worse numbers in the second year and were re-elected.

Had the poll numbers for the Democrats fallen below 40%, Obamacare would never have passed. As it was, the numbers weren’t bad enough to convince them to abandon Obamacare.

What I found astounding was that the level of deception by Obama and the Democrats was so far above what I saw during the Watergate scandal, yet the Democrats only suffered an 8% decline in support. Keep in mind that the margin of error in a poll is 3-5%.

Outright lies, then gaming the CBO, parliamentary tricks, back room deals like the Nebraska and Louisiana agreements, the public should have roared disapproval. It didn’t happen, there was a drop of less than 10% in public support for the Democrats.

I find that astounding. If you don’t, that’s fine, we’ll have to agree to disagree on that point.

But my larger point is this, whatever distasteful things the Democrats did to get Obamacare passed, their poll numbers only suffered a very gentle decline. It should have been precipitous, like Nixon, but it wasn’t.

> Everyone must surely know what Obamacare all about by now.
>Look, Ms. Concern Troll, even members of CONGRESS didn’t know what they were voting on. The leftists who supported it are only JUST NOW finding out that it doesn’t contain what they were told they were supporting. Don’t pretend to be an imbecile just for the sake of extending an argument.

I can see why it was important for you to correct the link. I was aware of the article that you mistakenly included. That article by
Jane Hamsher was written before Obamacare passed and summarized her own disappointment in the bill. However, since it was written before Obamacare passed, her article supports my point that everyone knows what is in the bill already.

Your second link is one that I had already read. The bill is an abomination, hastily written and almost certainly full of bad or crazy things. I’m sure as more people read the bill, more stupid _details_ will be found.

However, are you really going to argue that most people don’t already know the broad strokes of what the bill contains?

The federal government will be taking control of health care. They’ll be deciding which treatments are “efficient”, insurance companies will be told what and who they must cover, no one can be refused health care, people will either buy health insurance or they will be assessed a fine on their tax returns. Hospitals must apply to the HHS if they want to expand, new taxes on medical devices. New medical treatments must be approved by a government appointed committee.

To me, all of those things are bad. However, at least 40% of the people polled over the last year think the trade-off of more government intrusion into healthcare so more uninsured people will be covered, is a good thing.

To me, how Obama and the Democrats lied and then resorted to dirty tactics in passing the bill should have led to outrage and caused the bill to fail to pass. That obviously didn’t happen.

>- Leftists always (and I mean always) resort to ad hominem attacks, [i]which is exactly what you just did[/i].
>Look up ad hominem. It clearly doesn’t mean what you think it means.

>Don’t pretend to be an imbecile just for the sake of extending an argument.

Yup, I know exactly what ad hominem means. Do you?

Because calling me an imbecile and then exactly six lines later saying that my claim that you’ve engaged in an ad homimem attack is false is, well, pick from this list:

Look, we’re both conservatives and we both want Obamacare to be repealed.

Leftists are probably laughing at us right now, two conservatives arguing over what words mean and one of them calling the other names. The house is burning down and you want to fight me. I’m trying to figure out ways to defeat Obamacare and you’re calling me an imbecile. Yes, I’m sure Leftists are having a good time.

Ignoring the fact that leftists currently have a huge funding advantage is delusional. If we want to win this fight, the severe disadvantage in funding has to be addressed somehow. Burying your head in the sand and denying facts is a sure way to lose.

For some reason, lying worked. What that means is that conservative technique of exposing lies didn’t.

Obama lies all the time. Pointing it out didn’t hurt him very much, if at all. Conservatives have to find a way to persuade people that the Democrats and Obamacare must be defeated. Amazingly, proving that Obama and the Democrats are liars hasn’t done anything.

This is where I think things stand.

1) Leftists have a 10:1 funding advantage.

2) Poll numbers for Obama show about an 8% deficit. History shows that deficit can be overcome.

3) Obamacare has been talked about for over a year. The problems with the bill and the messy, probably unconstitutional way it was passed have been discussed and those issues weren’t enough to prevent the bill from being signed into law.

4) Conservatives have been calling Obama and the Democrats liars for at least since before Scott Brown was elected. Political support for the Democrats obviously didn’t fall enough to frighten the Democrats into abandoning Obamacare. That happened in 1994, support for Hillarycare fell to the point where the Democrats did give up.

The most recent Gallup poll scared me, it showed that after Obamacare passed Independent voters are split 50:50 on their support for the bill. That tells me that out of the gate, the Independent voters who will determine if Obamacare is repealed aren’t against it.

Conservatives must match the Democrats in funding. They must find a way to counter Obama’s lies, it’s not as easy as just calling him a liar. That’s not working.

Somehow, enough voters must be persuaded to oppose Obamacare so that Republicans can get to 60 Senate seats. The bad thing is that current polls show that GOP gaining at around 5 seats to 46 in 2010 and getting to maybe 55 in 2012. That’s simply not enough.

@79. Libertarian Activist: – I’ve had dozens of conversations with leftists. Their central theme is to talk about everything except the topic at hand. They’re attempting to distract.

That pretty much sums up what you’ve been doing here by endlessly repeating your long-winded, pointless, Concern Troll B.S., ‘agonizing’ over whether we should consider abandoning conservatism in order to preserve the Republic… because leftist ideology is more conducive to making big bucks. You’re an idiot.

- We’re on the same side.
See above, re: Concern Troll.

- When confronted with data they don’t like, they deny it.
You didn’t produce any data, troll.

- That wasn’t an observation, it was hard data.
With – as I said – no actual point behind it.

- Take note of that, Obama lied during the campaign and he still won.
BHO won because The Left Wing Media covered for him every step of the way. Regardless of HOW much money he raised, if the media had attacked him the way they attacked Sarah Palin, he would be teaching history at a junior college in Evanston, IL right now. Try to keep up.

- Had the poll numbers for the Democrats fallen below 40%, Obamacare would never have passed.
As with all your other flaccid claims, there’s no evidence whatsoever to support this silly assertion, and ample evidence showing the opposite. Support for the bill was in the gutter. Congress’ approval is nearing single digits. Most of the country thinks Congress should be replaced entirely. NO numbers would have convinced the socialists to abandon the bill because they are not concerned with public opinion, but ONLY with getting their agenda pushed through before someone starts holding them legally accountable.

- But my larger point is this, whatever distasteful things the Democrats did to get Obamacare passed, their poll numbers only suffered a very gentle decline. It should have been precipitous, like Nixon, but it wasn’t.
Are you an idiot, or are you just copying and pasting from a script written by an idiot? NIXON WAS ROASTED BY THE MEDIA! He was hounded out of office! Conversely, BHO and his gang of fascist pirates have gotten nothing but fawning adulation from every media outlet except “Faux News”. Get a grip. I’m happy to play along with your Concern Troll ploy, but you’ve got to hold up your end of the log here, and at least TRY to look like you have an actual brain.

- However, since it was written before Obamacare passed, her article supports my point…
Oh well, I see you insist on maintaining your insanity defense. Carry on…

- However, are you really going to argue that most people don’t already know the broad strokes of what the bill contains?
Absolutely. See the list of myths – those myths are what this bill was sold on, not the reality. Those myths are the ‘broad strokes’ of what people thought they were supporting, if they had any idea at all, and most clearly don’t. They think we just got “reform” and “universal health care”.

- Look, we’re both conservatives …
Heheh… okay, you go with that.

You need to go back to your crisis of faith act and pretend you’re deciding whether being conservative is the right “strategy” or whether you’d rather be a rich liberal. Either way, your Concern Troll shtick will go over a LOT better at Little Green Footballs or The Moderate Voice. I suggest trying your Rick Moran impersonation over there.

Hilarious,a Bush The Dumber sycophant with selective amnesia talking about bad Presidents and really just making excuses for the absolute worst DISGRACE OF ALL TIME ,GW Bush!The GOP Talking Points gibberish and hypocritical nonsense that I see here and constantly in the US Corporate owned rightwing Press is usually the funniest thing I read all day,so it’s good to know that Canada sees the same and also gets a good laugh!

Brilliant? Hardly. The only thing that ‘outshines’ this article is the sheer idiocy of the comments that follow. Welcome to right wing nutjob America. Where the Democrats are socialists who want to steal your baby while the Republicans just want to help you land a job by aiding the job creators. Unreal.

If you get your news and views from this guy and Fox News, well, there is no hope for you. You can’t fix stupid.